Stellenbosch, South Africa -- FireID, a leading provider of world-class security applications for mobile authentication, today announced that Frost & Sullivan, a leading global technology research firm, has awarded the company the 2009 African Mobile Two Factor Authentication Solutions New Product of the Year Award. Frost & Sullivan recognized FireID and its authentication solution as transforming a mobile phone into a self-contained security token that can generate one-time passwords (OTPs) on demand, without needed cellular connectivity. FireID provides benefits for both consumer and IT enterprise communities by eliminating the hassle and cost associated with hardware tokens as well as the security vulnerabilities and need for cellular connectivity required by SMS-based authentication.
“There are two key innovative aspects that make FireID a truly novel offering. First, FireID’s solution transforms the mobile phone, which users carry with them perpetually, into a self-contained security token that can generate secure OTPs on-demand. Second, the ability of FireID’s universal personal authenticator to generate OTPs even when there is no cellular network coverage is something that has not been seen in the industry to date,” said Sampath Achyuthanandan, Research Analyst, Technical Insights, Frost & Sullivan.
The Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation is part of the company’s Best Practices Research, which uses a research methodology to determine how best-in-class companies worldwide manage growth, innovation and leadership. Based on the findings of this Best Practices Research , Frost & Sullivan awarded FireID the top honors in the category, evaluating the company’s performance against key competitors for product innovation, leveraging of leading technologies, value-added benefits and features, increased customer value, and customer acquisition/
“We are honored to have received the Product Innovation Award for Mobile Two Factor Authentication from Frost & Sullivan,” said Jenny Dugmore, CEO of FireID. “We knew the transformational aspects that affordable, technologically superior authentication would have for consumer and business markets, and we are pleased that our efforts are being recognized throughout the industry.”
Frost & Sullivan commended FireID for the increased customer value that it has the potential to offer. In particular, the research firm noted that the FireID would have value for VPN/remote access, online shopping sites, social networks, Web-based email, online document repositories, Internet banking, consumer portals, firewalls, servers, network switches and routers, and practically any device, application, or website that requires robust authentication. In addition, the research firm recognized FireID for leveraging the industry-leading Open Authentication (OATH) standard algorithm in its solution as well as its support of all popular mobile operating systems, including Symbian, iPhone OS, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Android, and Java-compliant mobile devices.
